It used to be that businesses were locally owned, and everyone in the community knew a businesses’ owner.  Nowadays most businesses are chains, with employees that may or may not be locally based, but who usually have absolutely no vested interest in the company’s success.

Although profits are higher than ever (which only seems to benefit the people at the top, incidentally), businesses have lost something important: trust.  We no longer know the faces with whom we do business, let alone know them well enough to trust them.  Moreover, big businesses are forever looking for ways to maximize their profits, which often means screwing over the "little guy" — even more of a reason not to trust them.

Of course, the Internet and the global economy makes the "locally owned" thing a little more difficult.  The challenge is to create a similar level of personal experience (and, therefore, trust) even though the business model is quite different.  For instance, if you sell vacation packages online — such as this company, Sunquest — you would need to demostrate to potential customers why you could be trusted.  One way of doing that is to provide a lot of helpful information and articles at no cost to the consumer, such as information on how to get the best deals on all inclusive vacations to Caribbean islands.  Another way is to make sure you are friendly and helpful when customers contact you.

Even though the global marketplace has created a very different business atmosphere, that doesn’t mean you have to give up the values businesses used to hold dear!

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